Frightful's Mountain: Foreword–Frightful Peregrinates

by Jean Craighead George
In the third book of the My Side of the Mountain trilogy, Frightful is on her own in the wilderness, trying to survive without Sam.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Foreword–Frightful Peregrinates, Frightful Finds the Enemy–There are Eggs and Trouble, The Kids are Heard–A Pal Finds a Pal, Frightful and Oksi Run the Show–Afterword

Here are links to our lists for the My Side of the Mountain trilogy by Jean Craighead George: My Side of the Mountain, On the Far Side of the Mountain, Frightful's Mountain

And here is a link to Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tutelage
    attention and management implying responsibility for safety
    I manned her to my fist although I still lacked the tutelage to train or hunt her.
  2. cadre
    a small unit serving as part of a larger political movement
    At Millbrook, just across the Hudson from Delhi—where Sam and Frightful had had their adventures—I found a small cadre of students who not only shared my devotion to the birds, they had mastered the sport of falconry.
  3. inferior
    of low quality
    Convention considered the North American red-tail to be at best an inferior hunting tool.
  4. contemptuously
    without respect; in a disdainful manner
    European falconers dismissed them contemptuously as “buzzards.”
  5. pliant
    capable of being bent or flexed or twisted without breaking
    At night, we fashioned hardware, hoods, jesses, and gauntlets and bewits out of tough, pliant kangaroo hide.
  6. raptor
    a carnivorous bird that hunts other animals
    We learned to use ropes and climbing spurs to scale the tall oak and ash trees where the large raptors nested.
  7. taxidermy
    the art of mounting the skins of animals
    I also learned taxidermy and basic veterinary skills, how to determine disease, check for worms, give injections, and diagnose a range of illnesses and parasites that afflict raptors and other animals.
  8. vantage
    place or situation affording some benefit
    I continue to trap, band, and release hawks every migration on Orange County’s Schunnemunk Ridge—a vantage from which, on a clear morning, I can glimpse the Catskill peaks around Delhi.
  9. aviary
    a building where birds are kept
    I maintain breeding aviaries for hawks and owls at my home in Mount Kisco, New York, a few miles from Jean George’s home.
  10. rehabilitate
    restore someone to a good state of health or reputation
    I breed quail, pheasant, and occasionally turkeys, and I operate a wildlife rehabilitation center, with state and federal licenses that allow me to rehabilitate orphaned and injured raptors.
  11. stewardship
    the position of someone who manages the affairs of others
    I have to assume that thousands of other children outside my immediate circle were also inspired to varying degrees of ecological stewardship by their exposure to Sam Gribley’s adventures in My Side of the Mountain.
  12. agile
    moving quickly and lightly
    She was faster and more agile than any other bird or beast the world around.
  13. escarpment
    a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau or ridge
    To the northeast the rolling mountains ended in a steep escarpment.
  14. culvert
    a transverse and enclosed drain under a road or railway
    Breaking into a run, she dashed around a bend, just as a yellow- white-and-brown dog with long ears and droopy eyes left his hideout in a culvert.
  15. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    “Come harass the falcon,” the raucous crows called to each other.
  16. polarize
    cause to vibrate in a definite pattern
    A mere speck in the sky, she took a reading on the polarized light of the sun. The rays vibrated in lines that told her the direction.
  17. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    The female goshawk rose, dove, and rose again, her huge feet with their black talons poised to grab her flesh.
  18. mogul
    a bump on a ski slope
    She closed the slots between her flight feathers and maneuvered the bumps like a mogul skier.
  19. rampart
    an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
    She was on a stony rampart above the Schoharie River.
  20. agitated
    troubled emotionally and usually deeply
    She was agitated. The scene was familiar and unfamiliar.
  21. stipple
    produce a mottled effect
    White throats and cheek patches shimmered above pale breast feathers stippled with black flecks.
  22. trance
    a state resembling deep sleep
    When the other two nestlings crept into her feathers, she went into a trance.
  23. voracious
    devouring or craving food in great quantities
    After he had been brooded and warmed for an hour, he was suddenly voraciously hungry.
  24. natal
    relating to or accompanying birth
    The eyases grew their second, heavier coat of natal down when they were about fourteen days old.
  25. crevasse
    a deep fissure
    Left alone, the eyases explored the flowers, the rocks, and the crevasses in the cliff.
  26. adroit
    quick or skillful or adept in action or thought
    They were chasing crows and adroitly maneuvering among the tree branches.
  27. dominate
    have the power to defeat
    Without hesitating, he dropped down onto it and ate, fending off the eyases. He could still dominate them.
  28. catholic
    comprehensive or broad-minded in tastes and interests
    Chup had catholic tastes.
  29. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    He was walking along a tree that had fallen across a meandering stream.
  30. dally
    waste time
    She dallied another two weeks.
  31. pummel
    strike, usually with the fist
    The rain pummeled, swished, pattered, and was over.
  32. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    An undulating wind rocked her southward over a brushy meadow.
  33. feeble
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    She was growing feeble as hunger weakened her.
  34. deluge
    a heavy rain
    She sat calmly in the deluge.
  35. orient
    determine one's position with reference to another point
    Although the day was windy, all the guideposts she needed to orient herself were readable.
Created on Mon Aug 03 20:07:00 EDT 2015 (updated Tue Sep 11 10:37:02 EDT 2018)

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